


Falling For You

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-27 06:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6273268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nishinoya and Kageyama were only supposed to pretend to date for a couple of weeks before breaking up when Nishinoya's lie about their relationship to an admirer of his gets spread around the school. They don't have any feelings for each other, and they don't want to be together.</p><p>Until they do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was meant for the HQ Rare Pair Exchange but true to form I went into a mental health slump and got swamped with university, so I'm like seven days late. Frick. 
> 
> Anyway, it was going to be a KageSuga fanfic I wrote for this exchange, until someone said 'KageNoya' and I blanked out for a moment, realising that they were asking for a Kageyama pairing I had never written before. Clearly this needed to be rectified. So here you go! 
> 
> Also it's kind of nice to write something and not have all the angst just drape itself onto my work like a cat on a keyboard. Writing pure nonsense sometimes is fun!

“Will you please go out with me, Nishinoya-san?”

The girl bows to Nishinoya, proffering a box of home-made chocolates. She’s bright red, her voice has gone incredibly high, and Nishinoya almost accepts her offer because of how woefully dejected she looks. But he knows he can’t date someone he has no romantic feelings for. It wouldn’t be fair to her.

He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Kagami-san, but I’m already dating someone,” he lies.

For some reason he can’t bring himself to admit that he holds no affection for her. They’re in the same class and their interactions together are limited to friendly greetings or the occasional ‘can I borrow a pencil?’

He reaches out behind himself blindly, fingers groping for the nearest person. The team’s starting to come out of the gym, so he knows one of them will be there. Indeed, as soon as he touches the fabric of someone’s volleyball jacket, he seizes them and drags them closer. He’s hoping for either Kiyoko-san, Asahi-san or even Tanaka—they’ll definitely play along and get him out of this mess—but when he tugs them forward, they let out a grunt. It’s not Kiyoko-san. It’s not Asahi-san. It’s not Tanaka.

It’s _Kageyama._

“You’re dating _him_?!” shrieks Kagami. Her eyes are so wide they’re in danger of popping out of her head. People are stopping nearby, watching the exchange with mild interest, and Nishinoya feels his face warm with embarrassment.

“Yuh—yes!” says Nishinoya, and hears Kageyama grunt in surprise. He’s quiet though, doesn’t say a word. In that respect it’s almost a good thing Nishinoya grabbed him; he’s the least likely to make a huge scene in front of strangers when he’s surprised. If Nishinoya had accidentally grabbed Tsukishima or Hinata … “For a few weeks now!”

“That’s news to me,” drawls Tsukishima from behind Nishinoya, amused. It’s likely he’s already cottoned on to what’s happening. No doubt that bastard’s getting a real kick out of this. “Why didn’t you say anything to us sooner, Nishinoya-san?”

“What’s going on out here?” Daichi demands, stepping out. He puts a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder as he goes, as if to tell him wordlessly not to rile people up.

“Nishinoya-san and Kageyama are dating,” Tsukishima replies, before anyone else can speak.

“Excuse me?” Daichi asks, after a momentary pause.

 _Don’t say anything, don’t say anything!_ Nishinoya silently begs.

“What?!” comes a shout from inside the gym, and suddenly Tanaka and Hinata are trying to fit through the door at once, with Asahi uncertainly bringing up the rear.

“You’re dating Kageyama?” Tanaka says loudly. “How could you not tell me?”

“Yeah!” Hinata pipes up, scandalised. “I thought I was your best friend, Kageyama! Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“Now, now,” says Suga. He gently pushes past Asahi, Tanaka and Hinata, putting a hand each on Kageyama and Nishinoya’s shoulders. “I’m sure they wanted to take their time and explore their new relationship together. They would’ve told us when they were ready.”

Kagami’s crying now. She looks so embarrassed and devastated to be caught up in this situation. Without a word, she throws the box of chocolates at Nishinoya. It hits him on the chest near his right shoulder. The box springs open as it hits the ground and the chocolates go everywhere. She spins on her heels and runs away, sobbing as she goes.

“Well anyway,” says Tanaka after a lengthy pause, “congratulations you two!”

 _Why do bad things happen to good people?_ Nishinoya wonders in despair.

 

* * *

 

Never before has Nishinoya cursed the fact that he’s popular. Never before has he thought his popularity would be a problem. However, by the start of the next day at school, everyone has heard about his supposed relationship with Kageyama.

Speaking of Kageyama, Nishinoya hasn’t seen him since the end of their morning practice, when he walked out of the gym like he couldn’t leave fast enough. Nishinoya feels bad for dragging him into this, but now that his lie has already spread, he knows that they have to maintain the pretence of a relationship. A couple of weeks should do it, shouldn’t it? After that they can ‘break up’ and go back to normal.

Nishinoya may or may not have spent half the night sitting up devising a plan of action.

Because they’re in different years, Nishinoya doesn’t actually see Kageyama until lunch time, whereupon he grabs Kageyama from his classroom and drags him off somewhere deserted, where they’re unlikely to be overheard.

“First of all, I want to say I’m sorry for doing this to you,” says Nishinoya right off the bat. Kageyama shuffles awkwardly, avoiding Nishinoya’s eyes. “However, I have a huge favour to ask of you.”

“You want me to pretend that I’m in a relationship with you,” says Kageyama quickly. His cheeks are bright red. “Is that it?”

Nishinoya blinks, surprised. Sometimes he forgets that Kageyama’s not a complete idiot. He cottons on rather fast to a lot of things that aren’t school-related.

“Yes,” he says. “Just for a couple of weeks.”

“And this is because you’re so popular that word has already gotten around?”

“Yes.”

Kageyama pauses, pinching his chin in a pensive manner. Then, seconds later, he stands up straight with his shoulders pushed back, determination etched into every inch of his face. “I’ll do it.”

“You—you will?!”

“I don’t like it,” Kageyama admits, “but you need my help, so I’ll do it. It’s no skin off my back. I’m not popular, so not many people know me. Once this dies down, they’ll forget all about me.”

 _How can he say something like that without looking the slightest bit bothered?_ Nishinoya frowns up at him. _Not many people can admit that they don’t have many friends without looking slightly upset about it._

“Nishinoya-san?” Kageyama asks nervously. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re frowning at me. Did I say something wrong?” Kageyama tilts his head. “Do you not want me to help after all?”

“No, that’s not it,” says Nishinoya quickly, relaxing his face. “It’s just—well actually, never mind. It isn’t important.”

Kageyama opens his mouth like he’s about to continue questioning him about it, but then he thinks better of it and snaps his mouth shut.

“But how do we go about this dating thing?” he asks instead.

“How do you mean?”

“Well …” Kageyama rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, finding the view behind Nishinoya’s head incredibly fascinating. “What do people do when they’re dating?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Nishinoya blurts out.

“W-well it’s not like I’ve had anyone confess to me before!” says Kageyama hotly. His hands clench into fists. Nishinoya sees that he’s unintentionally humiliated him. “How—how am I supposed to know what people do when they’re dating?”

Nishinoya holds his hands up. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you, Kageyama-kun. You just … surprised me is all. Anyway, it’s not that hard to understand. People hold hands, spend a lot of time together and they—and they … well. Kiss.”

At this point Kageyama looks like he’s about ready to run away. Nishinoya can’t say he feels any differently.

“But the kissing comes later!” he insists. How does he manage to get himself into these situations? “Like, after a few months. This’ll only be for a few weeks, so we won’t get as far as that!”

“O-okay.”

Kageyama sways from side to side. He buries his hands deep into his pockets.

“Yeah,” says Nishinoya, relieved, “so you don’t need to worry.”

He wonders if Kageyama’s not having second thoughts about his offer to help. As much as Nishinoya would be upset about Kageyama breaking his promise, he wouldn’t blame him one bit. It’s not an ideal position to be in.

“So what d’you think?” Nishinoya asks as nonchalantly as he can manage.

“I’ll do it,” says Kageyama quietly. “I already said I would.”

Nishinoya beams up at Kageyama, slapping him on the arm. “Thanks so much! Man, I owe you one, don’t I?”

Frowning, Kageyama rubs his arm and says awkwardly, “I guess.”

The bell rang, interrupting their conversation.

“First plan of attack!” says Nishinoya. The almost frightened look Kageyama shoots him doesn’t escape his notice. He’s only a little offended by that. “To make it look like we really are dating, I’ll walk you to your classroom.”

“Oh, um … You don’t have to do that …”

“Eh? What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t attempt to walk you to your classroom at least once? People will think I’m lying if I don’t do that!”

Nishinoya’s already been grilled about his ‘relationship’ by several friends and acquaintances, who approached him like one would a sick kid in a hospital. People are more surprised that he’s dating a boy, as hardly any of them know Kageyama at all. If they do, he’s just the tall kid on Nishinoya’s volleyball team with a fierce glare.

“Listen,” he says, adopting an unusually serious tone. “I’ll only do that a couple of times a week. There’s nothing to worry about!”

Kageyama mumbles something Nishinoya can’t make out as he rubs the back of his neck. He gives permission with a short nod of his head, and trails behind Nishinoya until they reach a populated part of the school. Nishinoya forces Kageyama to hold hands with him.

As this is all Nishinoya’s fault, he doesn’t say a word about Kageyama’s sweaty palms.

People stare at Nishinoya and Kageyama as they walk past, not so subtly whispering about them behind their hands, pointing fingers in their direction. Nishinoya feels Kageyama trying to pull away, but gives his arm a sharp jerk to remind him not to break character. Nishinoya’s doomed if he does.

“Just how popular _are_ you?” Kageyama grouses under his breath.

“We’re almost at your classroom,” whispers Nishinoya. “Just don’t worry about it.”

He’s acting all high and mighty, but he really wants to punch everyone in the face. Wants to tell them all to mind their own fucking business and leave him—and Kageyama—alone. He never thought the stares would be this bad.

After this is over he’s going to go full hermit for a year and hope everyone has forgotten about him.

“Alright, Nishinoya-san, this is my classroom,” says Kageyama. He releases Nishinoya’s hand—thankfully he doesn’t rip his own away like he can’t let go fast enough. He’s getting better at maintaining their cover. “Thank you for walking me.”

The only way he could address Nishinoya any more formally is if he bowed, which he thankfully doesn’t do.

“Right, well, I’ll see you later,” replies Nishinoya. Oddly enough, he feels like throwing in a bow as well. How do people do this sort of thing? Dating is weird. “In volleyball practice. So, um, yeah. Bye.”

Kageyama offers a strained smile. “Bye.”

 

* * *

 

Suga corners Nishinoya just before practice begins, dragging him away from the gym so that nobody can overhear them. Each step they take feels like Nishinoya’s being dragged to his untimely demise.

“So,” Suga says cheerily, “tell me what’s been going on with you and Kageyama.”

“Um.” Nishinoya freezes, panicking. “N-Nothing?”

“You’re suddenly dating,” Suga continues. “Out of the blue, you declare that Kageyama is your boyfriend, dodging a love confession from a girl.”

 _He cottons on really fast,_ Nishinoya thinks. _Almost nothing gets past him_.

“I’m not the only one who believes that you’re merely using Kageyama for the time being to make sure that girl, or anyone else, doesn’t come up and confess to you.” Suga’s kind smile shows signs of strain. “Is that correct?”

Is there any real point in denying it? “Y-yes.”

“I see.” Suga lets a long, almost awkward silence drag out between them for at least twenty seconds. Knowing that a lecture is most likely on its way, Nishinoya starts fidgeting, wishing Suga would hurry up and get it over with. “Well, I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“H-huh?”

Suga shoots him a piercing glare. “I hope you know what you’re doing so you don’t hurt Kageyama in the end. Despite what you entered into this pretend relationship for, the line could blur for him. He could end up getting hurt.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you ever considered the possibility that this could make Kageyama fall for you?”

“What?” Nishinoya snorts. “That’s ridiculous.”

Suga arches a brow. “Is it? So being overly kind to him, holding his hand, maybe even kissing him at some point, might not change his opinion of you?” He folds his arms across his chest, shifting his weight onto his left foot. “You and I both know quite well that he has a history of being unable to communicate properly with others, which has more than likely hindered any personal relationships he wished to have. So how do you think he’s gonna feel when someone gets close to him in a romantic sense? He’s gonna start feeling cherished and loved and forget that this whole thing is a farce. He’s gonna forget that only one of you is still playing pretend.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Nishinoya replies solemnly. He’d never thought about any of that. Never considered the possibility that Kageyama might fall for him.

“Unless you end things now and go back to being teammates only, you won’t have a choice. The closer you guys get, the higher the chance Kageyama’s feelings could change. He doesn’t deserve to have his heart broken.”

“We agreed that we’d only pretend to date for a couple of weeks.” Nishinoya wrings his hands together anxiously. “That’s not enough to make his feelings change for me.” He pauses, frowning, and then adds uncertainly, “Is it?”

“Who knows?” replies Suga solemnly. “Just don’t hurt him, Noya.”

He claps Nishinoya on the shoulder and walks away. It’s a few minutes before Nishinoya can even think to follow him.

It’s suddenly hard to even look in Kageyama’s direction during practice. His conversation with Suga has given him a lot to think about. Kageyama’s awkward as heck and prone to fits of anger sometimes, but he’s a good kid and Suga’s right; he doesn’t deserve to get his heart broken.

“Nishinoya-san,” says Kageyama, approaching Nishinoya out of the blue, clutching a volleyball. “Is something wrong? You look worried.”

“What? Oh, um, it’s nothing.”

“Then you should probably talk to me normally instead of glaring at me.” Kageyama casts a furtive glance around the gym, but nobody is paying any attention to them. “We gotta keep up appearances unless you want everyone to find out.”

Nishinoya’s bewildered for a moment, and then he remembers their fake dating agreement. He’d been thinking so much he’d forgot all about it.

“Right, sorry! I’m just … I dunno, a little out of it.”

Kageyama peers at him. “You’re not sick, are you?”

“N-no! I’m fine.” How bad must Nishinoya look if Kageyama noticed? “Look, don’t worry about me and go back to practicing. I’m okay.”

Kageyama shoots Nishinoya a weird look, but complies. He runs over to Hinata, and the two start practicing their quick spike without exchanging more than a couple of words. Freak duo indeed.

“Nishinoya-senpai,” calls Yamaguchi, beckoning him over with frantic waves of his hand. Taking in a deep, calming breath Nishinoya heads over to him. “Could you help me practice my jump float serve by receiving them, please?”

Nishinoya forces a grin. “Of course!”

As he starts receiving Yamaguchi’s serves—they’re getting better, but they’re still pretty easy to get—Nishinoya resolves to put this business with Kageyama’s feelings out of his mind. This farce relationship is only going to last a couple of weeks, and there’s no way fully-fledged romantic feelings can grow in that time. Suga’s concern is well-meaning, but Nishinoya can’t help but feel it’s unnecessary. Nothing is going to happen.

“Yamaguchi, nice serve!” he shouts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! I was working on this chapter between all the other stories I've been writing. Plus, I kept editing what I'd written until I was satisfied. There was going to be an additional scene at the end, but I decided to include it in the third and final chapter instead. Enjoy!

Things start changing when Nishinoya somehow forgets to bring a jumper during one of the coldest days of the year, when the forecast predicts the season’s first snowfall will turn into the season’s first snowstorm. He doesn’t know how or why he forgot.

It’s okay when he gets to the gym in the afternoon, because his classroom was warm thanks to the heater, and since he’s bound to work up a sweat from practice there’s no real concern. It’s when they’re finished at the dead of night, snow building up outside, that he realises how cold it is. It’s made worse by all the sweat he’s worked up.

“Where’s your jumper, Nishinoya-senpai?” Hinata shouts, bounding over. Nishinoya can’t help the spike of envy he feels, seeing Hinata wearing his warm jacket. “Aren’t you gonna get cold?”

“N-not at all!” Nishinoya forces out through chattering teeth. He curses the fact that his mother is working the night shift and has taken the family’s only car, so neither she or his father can come pick him up if he calls. “Your senpai is impervious to the cold!”

He flexes his right arm and slaps his biceps, then flashes Hinata a thumbs-up.

Hinata’s eyes light up. “Nishinoya-senpai, that’s so cool!”

“Yeah, so naturally I won’t— _what the hell_?!”

Nishinoya flails, panicking, as something thick and black is draped over his head. Whatever it is gets caught for a moment, but with a fierce yank it comes down over his head and sits snug around his neck. Nishinoya looks down and realises it’s a jumper.

“Who—” He turns around to find the culprit and finds Kageyama standing behind him, studiously avoiding his gaze. “Kageyama, what the _hell_?”

“That’s my spare jumper,” Kageyama explains woodenly. “If you don’t have one, then you should wear that one.”

“Don’t just attack people, Kageyama!” reprimands Hinata. “You’re so stupid sometimes.”

“I wasn’t attacking him; I was giving him my jumper!” Kageyama snaps back. “Who asked you anyway? Go call your parents to come pick you up, dumbass.”

Hinata perks up like he’s just remembered he still needs to do that, then runs outside yelling about going to grab his stuff—and more importantly, his phone—from the change-rooms.

Nishinoya puts his arms through the sleeves and tugs the jumper down. To his humiliation, it fits him more like a dress. He has to roll the sleeves back several times in order to see his hands.

“Thanks,” he mumbles. “For the jumper.”

“Um, no problem,” says Kageyama, scratching the back of his neck. “Like I said earlier, that’s my spare one.”

One of the sleeves falls down Nishinoya’s arm. His hand disappears from sight, swallowed by the fabric. There’s another hot flash of embarrassment as he tugs the sleeve up. Why must all his kouhai be taller than him?

“I’ll, um, wash it tonight and give it back tomorrow,” he promises.

“Uh, okay,” replies Kageyama.

“Come on!” Daichi shouts, startling them both. “I’ve gotta lock up now. The forecast said a bad storm’s gonna roll in within the hour. Everyone hurry up and get a move on!”

Kageyama freezes, eyes widening in horror. “Oh no.”

Nishinoya asks, “What? What’s wrong?”

“I live an hour away.”

It takes half a second for Nishinoya to understand the implication. A bad storm rolling in within the hour, Kageyama living an hour away—chances are he’s going to get caught out in it.

“You don’t have anyone you can call?” he asks.

“My parents are at work,” says Kageyama, shaking his head. “None of my relatives live within the area either.” He grimaces, dragging a hand through his hair. “I guess I’ll have to run home.”

He starts walking away to do just that, but Nishinoya grabs him by the arm.

“Nishinoya-san, what are you doing?” Kageyama asks, confused. “I need to get home.”

“Stay over at my place until it blows over.” The words rush from Nishinoya’s lips before he can really think any of it over. “I live really close by.”

Kageyama freezes. “Are you … Are you sure about that?”

There’s no way he can back out of it now and pretend he was joking.

“Of course I am!” says Nishinoya firmly. “Get your stuff and follow me.”

“ _Have you ever considered the possibility that this could make Kageyama fall for you_?”

Nishinoya grimaces as Suga’s cautionary words echo through his skull. He shoves them out of his mind. Right now, he can’t afford to think stuff like that; he has a duty to make sure Kageyama doesn’t get caught out in the storm.

“Kageyama, Nishinoya,” Daichi calls urgently. “Leave, _now_! We can’t afford to stay here any longer. Hurry up and get home.”

“Come on,” says Nishinoya. He and Kageyama jog out of the gym to the locker rooms, grabbing their bags, and then rush out again. As soon as they’re outside, the halt almost immediately, mouths open in horror.

The snow is coming down heavier than before. Soon they won’t be able to see the ground at all due to a thick blanket of snow.

“Shit,” snarls Nishinoya. “We better hurry.”

But even as they run for the gates as fast as they can, the snow quickly piles up. Cars speed down the road, and whether they’re adhering to the speed limit is up for debate. Everyone wants to beat the worst of the snow and get off the streets.

“So much for an hour!” Kageyama yells.

“I know, right?!” Nishinoya shouts back. “This is insane!”

Despite how close Nishinoya’s house is—a ten-minute walk on a good day—the speed this storm has blown in means they’re already running on mounds of snow. It’s not enough to hinder them, but it is enough to cause panic.

The wind is picking up, ripping through their clothing, stinging their flesh. The jumpers are near useless as the fabric isn’t thick enough to adequately protect them.

When they get to Nishinoya’s house, they crash through the front door, bringing a draft in with them, shivering and groaning from the cold.

“Pardon the intrusion!” Kageyama shouts.

Nishinoya looks down and rolls his eyes. “Take your shoes off, man! You can’t stay in the genkan all day.”

Jumping, Kageyama wrestles his feet out of his shoes. He’s so flustered he almost falls over.

“Yuu, is that you?” a voice calls from the hallway.

Nishinoya turns around, then grins and shoves a hand up in the air. “Tousan!”

“I’m glad you made it home before the worst of the storm blew in,” says Nishinoya’s father. He turns to Kageyama and blinks in surprise. “Oh, and you brought a friend.”

Kageyama bows. “Pardon the intrusion! My name is Kageyama Tobio, I am a first year at Karasuno High.”

“He lives too far away,” Nishinoya explains, “so I told him he could come back with me.”

Realising he’s still wearing Kageyama’s jumper, he quickly shrugs out of it and grabs one of his coats from the stand, tucking the jumper under his arm. He reminds himself to put it in the laundry room when he passes it.

“Nice manners,” says Nishinoya’s father appreciatively. “You’re more than welcome in my home, Kageyama-kun. Please come inside and make yourself comfortable. Yuu, get him a hot drink!”

“I was gonna do that anyway!” says Nishinoya, as he makes his way to the kitchen, dropping the jacket onto the sofa. “Hot chocolate alright with you, Kageyama?”

Kageyama’s expression looks almost hunted, and he keeps shooting nervous glances at Nishinoya’s father. “Uh—yes please, um thanks.”

Snorting, Nishinoya turns on the kettle and starts preparing their hot chocolate. He hears his father telling Kageyama to sit down and start warming up, and then Kageyama’s fumbling response. The poor guy is just too rattled.

When he brings out the mugs of hot chocolate, handing one to Kageyama, Nishinoya turns to his father and says, “We’re gonna go upstairs and hang out in my room. Do you need anything before I go?”

His father shakes his head. “No, I’m good.” As Nishinoya and Kageyama head down the hall, his father calls out, “If you’re gonna play video games, don’t turn the television up too loud or you’ll disturb the neighbours again—and no shouting, Yuu! I don’t care how amazing the game is, someone might call the cops on us.”

“I won’t yell, promise!”

“That’s what you said the last time. But I mean it this time! No shouting!”

Nishinoya flaps his hand behind him, and it must’ve done the trick because his father doesn’t say anything more.

“Hey!” he says to Kageyama, setting his mug down next to the television so he can scan the small bookcase full of games freely. “Wanna play a game?”

“S-sure.”

“What do you want to play?”

Kageyama taps his nails against the side of his mug, biting his lip. “I don’t—I don’t play video games so I dunno what’s good. Sorry.”

Nishinoya gapes at him. “Oh man, I’m gonna have to educate you!” He rubs his hands together, taking his selection of a game much more seriously now. “Honestly, you’ve gotta do something other than play volleyball all day or you’ll be boring!”

“B-boring?”

“You don’t have any other hobbies! When someone asks what you like to do in your free time, all you’re gonna be able to say is ‘play volleyball’ and that’s it.”

“I don’t want to be boring,” says Kageyama seriously. “So I should pick up gaming as an extra hobby?”

“Yeah, totally! It’s a lot of fun, you’ll see.” Nishinoya peers closely at Kageyama, and then says, “I think you’d like fighting games! We should try that first!”

It was a terrible idea.

“I don’t know how to play this!” Kageyama yells, frantically mashing buttons as he tries to strike Nishinoya’s character, missing more often than he hits. “I don’t know how to play this; I don’t know what to do! Stop trying to kill my character and help me!”

Nishinoya’s laughing so hard he can barely breathe. He stops when Kageyama’s character jumps, does a front flip in midair, and then slams down on Nishinoya’s character, decimating a quarter of the health bar.

“Oi!” Nishinoya growls good-naturedly. “I’m gonna get you back for that!”

“How did I do that?!” Kageyama shrieks, staring helplessly at the buttons of his controller, and then starts jabbing every single one. “What buttons did I press?”

“Dunno!” laughs Nishinoya, as he jabs at Kageyama’s character several times, much to Kageyama’s dismay; he’s only got a little bit of health left. “Figure it out on your own, I’m not gonna help you win!”

The bedroom door opens.

“Boys,” says Nishinoya’s father tiredly, poking his head through the gap, “what did I say about shouting?”

“Um,” says Nishinoya, sharing a guilty look with Kageyama, “not to?”

“And what have you been doing for the past hour?”

Nishinoya groans and lowers his head. “Shouting. Sorry, Tousan.”

“Sorry,” Kageyama echoes sincerely.

“Ah, that reminds me. Kageyama, have you called your parents yet to tell them where you are? I’ve checked outside and the storm is too bad for you to walk home yet. I’m more than happy to let you stay the night, but please do call your parents.”

Gasping, Kageyama whips out his phone and checks the time. “Oh no, it’s nine o’clock!” He stands up, searching through his contact list before he finds his mother’s number. “Excuse me, sorry.” He steps past Nishinoya’s father and into the hall.

“Tobio? Is that you?” his mother asks, answering on the third ring. “Where are you? I was just about to call.”

“I’m at Nishinoya Yuu’s house; he’s a friend who is also on my volleyball team. He let me come stay at his house because the storm was already blowing in when we were leaving.”

“But how are you going to get home? It’s really bad out there and they’re predicting it won’t stop until roughly midnight. You can’t walk home in the dark at that time.”

“They said it’s alright for me to stay here for the night,” replies Kageyama.

His mother sighs. “I suppose I don’t have much choice but to let you stay there. Please tell your friend’s parents that I said thank you, okay? Stay safe.”

“Nn, I will. Thanks, Okaasan.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Tobio. Love you.”

“Yeah, um, love you too. Bye.”

He waits until his mother hangs up before he stows his phone away and walks back into the bedroom.

“Okaasan said it’s fine,” he says, “and also she said for me to say thank you on her behalf for letting me stay over.”

“We’re glad to have you, Kageyama-kun,” Nishinoya’s father says.

Kageyama blushes bright red and stares avidly at a spot on the ground, mumbling something that sounds like ‘thank you’. Nishinoya wonders how many times someone like him has heard those words come from anyone’s lips so sincerely.

“I’ll get the spare futon,” says Nishinoya, marching from the room to the laundry room where they keep the spare futon on top of a metal shelf so that it’s out of the way when not in use. He remembers the jumper and runs out to grab it, tossing it into the hamper in front of the washing machine. He makes quick work of pulling down the futon and dragging it back to his bedroom.

When he comes back, his father has already disappeared. Kageyama’s eyes flick to Nishinoya when he comes in. He pretends he wasn’t inspecting the room curiously.

“You might get a bit cold,” Nishinoya tells him. He makes quick work of setting the futon out. “If you need more blankets, just let me know, alright?”

“I will,” says Kageyama. “Thank you, Nishinoya-san.”

They play a few more rounds of the game—quieter this time, as they don’t want to get into trouble—and then they agree silently that it’s time for them to go to bed.

The howling wind grows steadily more pronounced in the quiet bedroom until it is all they can hear. Nishinoya wonders when the storm will blow over. What will they do if they can’t leave the house in the morning? What if his mother can’t get back in for ages? He’s heard of storms where the snow piles up so much you can’t see past it.

Glancing down, Nishinoya sees Kageyama curled up in the middle of the futon with his back to the bed. It’s unclear whether that’s how he gets to sleep or whether he’s cold. Nishinoya is about to ask him if he wants an extra blanket but thinks better of it; if Kageyama really is just drifting off, he doesn’t want to wake him back up.

After a while, Nishinoya starts to drift off. It’s not too long before he’s roused from his slumber, confused and bleary-eyed, by the dipping of the mattress.

“What the—” Nishinoya wipes his eyes and sees a figure looming over him. He gasps in surprise and sits up, hand raised and ready to strike.

“Did I wake you?” says Kageyama’s voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Kageyama? What the hell are you doing?” Nishinoya groans and flops against his pillows, pressing a hand over his frantically beating heart. “You scared me half to death!”

“I’m sorry. I was freezing so I thought I’d sneak into your bed to get warm.”

“I told you, you could wake me up if you were cold and I’d get some extra blankets for you!”

“But I didn’t want to wake you up. You worked hard at practice, and you deserve all the sleep you can get.”

Nishinoya sits upright again, forcing Kageyama to move back and give him some space. “I’ll get some blankets now, then.” But when he swings his legs over the bed, his feet touch the freezing cold floor and he recoils, hissing. He doesn’t know where he put his slippers—hasn’t used them for months—and his feet are so warm he doesn’t want to get up. “You know what? Just get in here.”

Kageyama freezes. “W-what?”

“You were gonna do that anyway, weren’t you?” Nishinoya grabs Kageyama by the front of his shirt and yanks him forward. He ends up sprawled ungainly over the bed as well as Nishinoya’s legs. “Why’s it different when I ask?”

“You weren’t supposed to know about that…” Kageyama sits upright and scoots to the other side of the bed, where he sits cross-legged. He reminds Nishinoya of a child—albeit a very large one. “I just didn’t wanna wake you.”

“That’s a bit creepy, not gonna lie,” says Nishinoya. “But anyway, just get in bed and get warm. Go to sleep. This doesn’t mean anything, you know.”

It must be a trick of the light, but Nishinoya thinks he sees Kageyama freeze, maybe that’s a look of disappointment flashing across his face? But no, the expression is gone before Nishinoya can distinguish the emotion in it.

“Okay,” mumbles Kageyama. He flops down on the bed with his back to Nishinoya, who sighs and wraps the blanket around him. “Thank you.”

But another problem arises when Kageyama tries to get comfortable; there’s not enough room on this bed for two people to lie side-by-side without touching. Nishinoya hopes Kageyama won’t take this the wrong way, slinging an arm around his waist.

“N-Nishinoya-san?” Kageyama gasps, flinching at the touch. “What are you doing?”

“There’s not enough space,” says Nishinoya, his cheeks heating. “Sorry, but we might have to cuddle so neither of us wakes up on the floor.”

Kageyama goes silent, and all Nishinoya can hear is the soft puff of his breath that, for some reason, sounds louder than the howling wind outside.

“Okay,” says Kageyama quietly, and for a second Nishinoya thinks he’s misheard him. Then Kageyama’s shifts back, pressing the long column of his back against Nishinoya’s body until Nishinoya’s arm fits snugly around his waist and his shoulder isn’t straining in order for him to reach. Kageyama exhales, relaxing. “It’s fine by me.”

Nishinoya gulps. Despite his plan to lie closer together like this to give them both room on the bed, he hadn’t expected Kageyama to agree with no complaints. He’s acutely aware of every minute shift Kageyama makes—acutely aware that this is the closest he’s ever been to someone on an intimate level.

After a while, Nishinoya doesn’t know whether Kageyama’s awake or asleep. He’s as quiet as a mouse and now as still as stone. It’s a long time before Nishinoya can drift off as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to cut the last chapter in half to work up to the part everyone is waiting desperately for. I wanted there to be some distance between when Nishinoya realises his feelings to when he finally does something about it. So yes, now there's one more chapter to go.

Nishinoya wakes up the next morning with a heavy weight on his chest that pins him to the bed. Frowning, he blinks up at the ceiling until the blurriness disappears from his vision, and then he looks down. Quite suddenly his heart is pumping a mile an hour as he notices Kageyama draped over him, breath tickling Nishinoya’s neck.

 _What the hell?_ Nishinoya thinks. He has to resist the urge to push Kageyama off him and launch himself from the bed. _When did this happen? What the hell?_

Sure, Nishinoya did offer to let Kageyama sleep in the same bed because it was cold, but he certainly hadn’t signed up for _cuddling_. He doesn’t remember getting into this position in the first place. Have they been like this the whole night?

Kageyama remains peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware of Nishinoya’s internal crisis. Then, Kageyama hums and shifts around until he’s facing away from Nishinoya, one arm tucked underneath the pillow, the other resting by his face.

 _No, you have to calm down,_ Nishinoya tells himself. This doesn’t mean anything. It won’t mean anything. _You have to let it go._

Carefully, Nishinoya climbs out of bed (gasping when his bare feet touch the freezing floor) and pads out of the room. He needs to get away from Kageyama and sort his thoughts out in peace. It’s too overwhelming to lie there for even a moment longer.

No one is awake, which suits Nishinoya just fine. In the kitchen, he gets himself a glass of orange juice and sits down at the table. All the while, his traitorous brain won’t stop replaying the image of Kageyama sound asleep in Nishinoya’s bed, almost angelic in his peacefulness. Each time he thinks about it, his heart starts to thump wildly in his chest, and he loses his breath like he’s been running around a volleyball court.

 _Shut up, brain,_ Nishinoya snarls, digging his knuckles into his skull. Whatever Kageyama is, he’s not angelic, cute, hot, gorgeous (but he kind of is though)— _Seriously, cut it out, brain!_

This is so not good.

Nishinoya just might be falling for Kageyama.

 

* * *

 

With this revelation swimming around in his head, the day passes in a blur for Nishinoya. At some point a snow removal truck comes in and clears the roads as best as possible, so now the silence is broken up by the passing of cars.

However, there’s still mountains of snow outside that blocks the front door—and it’s Nishinoya’s job to clear it out for when his mother comes home. During snow days like this, it’s really the only chore his parents expect him to do, which is nice.

Despite assurances that he doesn’t have to, Kageyama joins him anyway. Nishinoya spends most of his time glaring at the snow he shovels out of the way so he won’t stare conspicuously at Kageyama the whole time, admiring the pinkness of his face that’s not covered by his beanie or scarf.

They work mostly in silence, as Nishinoya doesn’t trust what might come out of his mouth if he spoke. Kageyama doesn’t seem bothered by it. Within the hour, they have half of the path uncovered, but they’re hot, sweaty, and desperate for a drink.

“C’mon,” says Nishinoya, chucking his shovel onto a snow pile so big it’s almost taller than him. He rubs his forehead roughly with a gloved hand as he leads the way back into the house. “I’m thirsty as _hell_.”

“Me, too,” Kageyama mumbles. When they’re inside, he takes off his beanie and runs a hand through his damp hair. “Could I have a glass of milk, please?”

“S-sure.” Nishinoya’s careful to keep his eyes averted. His chest feels tighter than before, as if the mere sight of Kageyama takes more out of him than an hour of intense exercise. This’ll be fun to deal with during volleyball practice, won’t it?!

It doesn’t help that when Kageyama drinks his milk, he gets an amazing white moustache that he’s completely oblivious to. Nishinoya’s in hysterics, much to Kageyama’s consternation, but in the end it has to be one of the cutest things Nishinoya has ever seen—including that time he saw Kiyoko-san running in the heat with her hair pulled back that one time.

At the end of the day, however, the roads are clear enough that Kageyama’s mother calls to say she’s coming to pick him up. Nishinoya finds himself praying that another snowstorm blows in before she can reach her car, so that Kageyama won’t have to leave.

 _Stupid_ , he tells himself. _He has to go home. He can’t live here all the time_.

But that makes him wonder what would happen if Kageyama could live here all the time—and he cuts off that dangerous thought before it can fester. Kageyama’s mother is coming to pick him up and that’s that.

“Hey!” says Nishinoya, making Kageyama jump. “Wanna play another round of Mortal Kombat before your mother gets here?”

Kageyama brightens, although he doesn’t smile. “Sure.”

Unfortunately, Kageyama hasn’t gotten any better since the last time they played; he frantically button mashes, throwing his whole body into playing until Nishinoya’s in danger of getting an elbow to the head if he leans too far into Kageyama’s space, and loses spectacularly.

“Don’t worry!” says Nishinoya, slapping a disappointed Kageyama on the back. “If we play it often enough, you’ll get better than me in no time.”

Kageyama blinks, surprised. “I will?”

“Sure! It’s like volleyball, hey; practice makes perfect.”

Leaning forward, Kageyama grips the controller tight and glares up at the television screen, the very picture of determination. “Then I’ll come over whenever I can and play this, until I’m able to beat you Nishinoya-san!”

He’s too cute, Nishinoya thinks. I could just—

“Tobio-kun, your mother is here,” Tousan calls.

Nishinoya leans back, belatedly realising he’d been in the middle of extending his hand toward an oblivious Kageyama— _to do what? What was I going to do?!_ —and says, “Come on, Kageyama. Let’s go.”

They see Kageyama’s mother at the front door, bowing to Nishinoya’s father, saying, “Thank you so much for taking care of my son last night.”

“It was my pleasure, Kageyama-san,” says Nishinoya’s father. He turns to Kageyama and says to him, “You’re more than welcome to come over whenever you want.”

Kageyama’s cheeks go red, but he bows and says, “Thank you very much!”

“Come on, Tobio,” says Kageyama’s mother. She bows again to the Nishinoyas and, with a hand on her son’s shoulder, leads him to the car.

Watching the car start up and pull out of the driveway, Nishinoya feels strangely … empty. Like Kageyama had filled a space Nishinoya hadn’t known even known was there, much less needed filling.

This crush is going to ruin Nishinoya, he’s sure of it.

 

* * *

 

At morning practice a few days later, Nishinoya’s so distracted he flubs more receives than usual, much to the team’s confusion and worry. And it’s all because Kageyama’s being one hell of a distraction on the court. Never before has Nishinoya ever needed to pay attention to a setter so much, but now Kageyama’s all he can concentrate on.

“Noya-san, you alright?” Tanaka asks, slapping Nishinoya on the back after he flubs a receive. “You could have gotten that easy!”

“It wasn’t _that_ bad of a serve,” Yamaguchi mumbles, his voice carrying from the other end of the court, rubbing his neck embarrassedly.

“I’m fine,” Nishinoya says, rubbing sweat from his forehead. “Just an off day, that’s all.”

He’s endlessly glad that this is just practice, not an actual match. He knows the coach would throw him off the court and keep him off if he performed this badly in a match. Even so, he still feels the coach’s stern gaze on his back.

“Yeah, but even so—”

“Hinata!” Kageyama shouts.

And despite the fact that Tanaka’s still talking, Nishinoya’s attention shifts immediately onto Kageyama, who arches back—so much so that his shirt rides up, and oh god, those _abs_ —and sets to Hinata with his usual blinding speed.

“Hey!” Tanaka whacks Nishinoya on the back. “Are you even listening to me, man? I’m talking to you!”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” says Nishinoya almost dazedly, turning back to Tanaka who’s starting to look cross. “I’m listening.”

“Then what did I just say?”

“You said—I dunno, you said _something_.”

“Alright break it up, break it up,” says Suga-san, pushing his way between them. He chucks Tanaka the ball he’d been holding. “Tanaka, you should go practice your own serves. Go on.” He waits until Tanaka, grumbling under his breath, walks away before he turns to Nishinoya and says very seriously, “We need to talk.”

 

* * *

 

“Ah! So that’s what this is about!” Suga shouts, leaning back dangerously on the bench near one of the gyms. He’d taken Nishinoya outside to discuss what his issues where, and after a few minutes of grudging silence, Nishinoya had cracked and spilled everything. “And after all my warnings not to break his heart, I never would’ve thought about _you_ falling for _him_!”

“Keep your voice down!” Nishinoya hisses, resisting the urge to slap his hand over Suga’s mouth. “What if someone hears you?”

“There’s no one around, and we’re far enough away to not be heard. So.” Suga clears his throat, all business-like again. “What’re you going to do about this?”

“Nothing, alright? I’m not gonna do anything. I’m just gonna wait for these feelings to disappear.”

“You do realise that technically you’re in a relationship with him—as far as everyone but you two and me are concerned. If you confess, not much will change. And nobody will have to tip-toe around you two if you ‘break up’ with each other.”

“But he doesn’t like me like … like _that_.”

“Are you _sure_ about that?”

There’s something in Suga-san’s voice that gives Nishinoya pause. It’s like Suga-san knows something that Nishinoya doesn’t.

“What do you mean?” he asks. “What do you mean ‘am I sure’?”

Suga-san arches a brow. “What do you think I mean?”

“I don’t—I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking.”

Sighing, Suga-san says, “You should think over what you want from Kageyama. I know this initially started out as nothing more than Kageyama helping you fend off your fangirls or whatever, but something has changed between you two. Don’t end your relationship with him—even if, for now, it’s still fake—until you figure it all out.” He puts a hand on Nishinoya’s shoulder. “You could lose something—someone—really good for you if you screw this up.”

With that, he stands and walks back into the gym, leaving Nishinoya to his thoughts.


End file.
